his-story
The Beginning: From Farming to the Caribbean
The year was 1983. It was the beginning of a journey of an evolution that I never imagined in my wildest dreams. I was a farmer with a passion for business. I was done with farming, and was ready for a new adventure... the Caribbean would be my next chapter. I started a tourism magazine that I coined as “Nights Publications” originating in St. Maarten/St. Martin. It expanded into multiple countries around the Caribbean. The next decade was spent doing business and making close friends in my new life.
The Reluctant Trip to Cuba
In 1994, my friends insisted that I go with them to Cuba. The friends who invited me were in the business of selling Cuban Cigars and needed to visit the head offices of Habanos Cigar Company, a few times a year. On one occasion, I accompanied them on their trip. I didn’t go willingly, nor was I prepared. I told them, “Are you kidding me?! I don’t speak the language there, and I am absolutely not interested in a Latin American country that wants to spread their machine-armed revolution wherever they could.” It surely was not my idea of a dream vacation destination. What got me to go? I was an Anthropologist, and I conned myself into thinking it may look good on my personal C.V., so off with them I went. After protesting heavily over the idea of joining them there for a full week, I managed to compromise for just 3-nights. BIG MISTAKE!
The Park Bench That Changed Everything
There I was, in Cuba. I found nothing there upon arrival. Nothing of commercial value such as a place to get a coffee or a sandwich, and I was left to my own devices of discovery. I sat in a magnificent park in central Havana kinda’ feeling sorry for myself, missing all of my basic conveniences. Suddenly, something else began to happen. The park started to fill up, and most park benches were taken, full of Cubans, all expect this Canadian gringo... all eyes were upon me. Every time I looked up, there they’d be, all staring right back at me. All of the sudden, one, two, three, turned to several, approached me. The Habaneros wanted to hear all about me and what I thought about Cuba.
Falling in Love with Cuba’s Soul
Of course I didn’t speak a word of Spanish except for the most important phrase to memorize, “¿Dónde está el baño?” but being a traveler, I managed as I had learned the traveler’s way of communicating with hand gestures, a few words, and lots of laughing. The truth is, the people of this culture made me feel special in their authenticity of making me feel like an Ambassador from the U.N. This is when I fell totally head over heels for the Cuban people, their resilience, their sharing of the very little they had with a stranger, their art, their music, their architecture, and their history. To top it off... what a romantic joint Cuba is. In the end, I kicked myself plenty for being so stubborn at not having stayed longer. After 3 years of monthly visits to Havana, I began to learn and speak some “Cuban,” learn my way to drive around the city, make lots of friends, and found out they sold heaps of art in Havana Viega. It was I Havana Viega that I ended up spending many of my daytime hours checking out and purchasing some fabulous art and a bit of schlocky art I enjoyed as well.
The Art Obsession Begins
After 3 years of monthly visits to Havana, I began to learn and speak some “Cuban,” learn my way to drive around the city, make lots of friends, and found out they sold heaps of art in Havana Viega. It was I Havana Viega that I ended up spending many of my daytime hours checking out and purchasing some fabulous art and a bit of schlocky art I enjoyed as well. In the end, while dealing with great communist oversight and administration, I ended up returning with well over 100 different art canvases and sculptures throughout my first 2 years of visits. That is how much I loved their art, which at that time was much more affordable than it is today.
The Birth of Cuba’s Cookin’
The problem was…back in Aruba, WHERE WAS I GOING TO HANG ALL OF MY NEW FABULOUS ART? The only avenue I had for placing my artwork was to offer it up to all of my restaurant advertisers in my magazines on consignment. That was to no avail, as despite all of them loving the art, they all said, “no thank you.” Now what? Next to my office in downtown Aruba was an old Cunucu townhouse built back in 1877 that still exists to this day. I had an “AHA” moment looking at it one day, and the next thing I knew, I found myself signing a lease, and then found a partner with restaurant experience. VIOLA! With no experience whatsoever, I found a great location for my art because this ol’ bohemian house had so many walls to hang what I considered as my precious collection. Thus, the birth of Cuba’s Cookin’ took form.
The Quirky, Bohemian Restaurant
When we first moved into our building of 1877 (which had been a ship Captain’s home) built close to Fort Zuitman for protection. It had gone through a few owners before we got to it and with its many small rooms, we were afforded lots of wall space to practically house my entire Cuban art collection. In 1877 the population at large was much smaller in height than we are now so that all the door casings reflected that height and you had to duck a couple of inches to pass through the several room doorways in order to get seated. The worst doorway to go through was the bathroom which was at least 2 or 3 inches shorter than all the entrances. And even after 14 years of having the restaurant housed there, I would still crack my head on the doorframe and curse my stupidity every time I excited it. Of course, with all the mojitos that were consumed at least 1 pilgrimage was a required visit and we would see and chuckle at everyone coming out of there holding the side of their head no matter how many warning signs were placed. At this time and with this beginning, Cuba’s Cookin’ just naturally represented itself with a lot of character matched only by its Latin Bohemian style.
Poetry Nights & Dancing Till Dawn
There were 2 meaningful events created that helped launch our Latin Beatnik swing - our food and live music…Poetry Night and “Noche Latina” were at the center, where at 10pm, we cleared the place for Latin dancing, and it was standing room only. It was vivacious! The most beautiful men and women on the island came to show off both themselves and their extremely stylish looks and dance moves. I, and everyone else, just loved it. As a matter of fact, it’s safe to say that during this period, 1999 – 2010, more babies were made, and marriages took place than at any other 10-year timespan in the history of Aruba.
Surviving, Moving & Thriving
This was just a taste of what we had become, and who we are now. 2 years into doing business, the partnership I had dissolved, and I was left to operate on my own. 2 years in, I knew more than when I had started, but I still knew very little…I made many mistakes but I learned very quickly of what not to do and began using good basic business principles and slowly but surely steadied the ship in order to bring it to the place it is now over 25 years later. In the beginning, it was not easy as I spent many a payday reaching into my pocket to cover everyone’s salary. In 2012 we said good-bye to our Cunucu joint, and moved to our present location. Why? For many reasons; our parking lot turned into a bank, and the new train downtown turned all the streets around us into a construction zone so tourists were just avoiding our entire area in general. Our cheese had been moved and we were losing too much business. Our timing to move proved to be lucky for us as we took over a front location on the main downtown boulevard in Renaissance Marketplace, where we are to this day.
Pandemic Pivots & Reinvention
The new move put our brand into a direction to rebuild, and we did just that. Then, along came the pandemic. During Covid, and after Covid, was a time of complexity and difficulty for us and practically everyone where difficult decisions had to be made. However, I was not in this alone as waiting in the wings was my audacious manager Adriana. Times, they were a changin’…it was her who took control by remodeling the interior of the restaurant and initiating take out foods so as to support desperately needed cash flow. We worked diligently and in unison, and slowly but surely with the help of Aruba being one of the first Caribbean destinations to open its borders, we began to increase and then match business as normal. Once up and running, we also began to reinvest in every possible way, from furniture and lighting to new menus and a fresh new outlook on life and what the world now looked like.
The Heart of Cuba’s Cookin’
Para Servile, translated as - How can we serve you? That has always been the philosophy and culture of Cuba’s Cookin.’ The truth is I never had an interest in just feeding people. My interest was to bring the intimacy and affection of this particular Latin culture, through its music, art, food, ambiance, and good old fashion courtesy, kindness and interest from all of our staff. So a big shout out to all of you who have come, who have kept coming, and who will soon be coming very soon. A big thanks for helping us make Cuba’s Cookin’ what it is today! With all that I have gained from the Cuban people in these last 30 years, I welcome, and get to share with all of you. I have survived and thrived with Cuba’s Cookin’ all this time, and that is my real success. Thank you for learning about our journey, and we look forward to bringing you an Authentic Cuban experience while in Aruba. From all of us, a big fat “Cuban abrazo,” (our Cuban hug). Hasta pronto,
Douglass Markus
Owner, Cuba’s Cookin’
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